Which to use
“absetzen” and “ansetzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,133
- “absetzen” frequency rank
- #13,542
- “ansetzen” frequency rank
- 22675
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | absetzen | ansetzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine bestimmte Menge an Ware verkaufen | etwas an etwas anderes anlehnen, etwas zu etwas anderem führen |
Where the eye mixes absetzen and ansetzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. absetzen and ansetzen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: absetzen vs ansetzen
A purely visual mix-up. absetzen ([ˈapˌz̥ɛt͡sn̩]) and ansetzen ([ˈanˌzɛt͡sn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - b in “absetzen” becomes n in “ansetzen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22675, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
absetzen is recorded at frequency rank #9,133, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌz̥ɛt͡sn̩]. ansetzen is at rank #13,542, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌzɛt͡sn̩].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 22675, this pair ranks #1,871,168 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of absetzen vs ansetzen
Shared letters: aenstz. Private to "absetzen": b. Private to "ansetzen": -.
"absetzen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "ansetzen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "absetzen" and "ansetzen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "absetzen" or "ansetzen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "absetzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ansetzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,871,168 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "absetzen" and "ansetzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anheizen vs ansetzen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,871,168 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.